Don't paint with too broad a brush as it relates to AAU coaches. Most attempt to do what the player and parents want. Don't feel slighted but almost every kid that plays D3 that I come across feels, at the beginning, as if they settled or somehow missed out on playing at a higher level. I can also say that four years later most see it differently than they did as a 17 or 18 year old. Most parents are very much like their kids. They want D1, sometimes as much or more than the player. It's pretty startling to be a part of the process. What I tell kids is that I will do whatever I can to get them where they want to be, while at the same time being as honest as I can with the reality of their circumstances. We discuss academics, etc., but all the kid hears is level. I have had kids go D1 having never been on the campus or spending more than 5 minutes with the coach. It's scary. I tell my kids all the time don't make a decision that has 40 year implications for 40 minutes of Twitter glory, but it doesn't help.
Right now I have about 30+ kids playing college ball on all levels (only 1 in D2). Even when kids go D3 about half of them reach out and ask is there a way to still go D1. Then when the season starts, ball is ball.
One of the reasons D3 is so strong in IL is because the 13 D1 schools seem to be pretty clueless about kids in their own backyard. Just got one of my kids to Houston, final schools were UAB, Whichita St. & W. Virginia. Never received a single call from a D1 in IL. Kid would have loved to stay closer to home never got the chance.
As it relates to Bob/Windycity, if he says he got a kid an offer, he did. Bob no longer coaches and truly just helps kids who are often overlooked... and he asks for nothing. There are actually more people who just are in it for the kids in AAU than most know. The shoe company teams get the pub, but programs like mine, Mercury Elite and countless others do a lot for kids on and off the court. And yes our first conversations with kids are about D1 and the prospects of playing at the highest college level. This conversation is unavoidable because for most kids it's the main reason they play AAU.
Occasionally both the kids and the parents get it. One of my current D3s received a D1 offer right before the start of school, tough call, because the kid could easily play D1. But the family made a decision and locked in with the D3.
Finally, this whole issue about D3s being able to play D1 is silly. Of course there are many kids on all levels who could contribute on D1. In my humble estimation after doing this for almost 30 years it works like this.... There are about 900 D1 scholarships each year. The first 600 are easy calls, height, athleticism, connections, etc... But there are probably a couple thousand kids that are talented enough for the last 100-200 scholarships. That's where folks like Bob come into play to get your kid seen with those coaches as they give out those last few scholarships. Then it becomes need and fit. Coach may be looking for a shooter, defender or a GPA booster, you just never know. A couple of my D1s are clear cut D1s and doing great. I have some who would have the same struggles they are having at D1 if they played D3. My D1s currently play at Louisville, IUPUI, Albany, SIUe, Chicago St., Incarnate Word, and a couple of other places that escape me. A round robin of my D3s, D1s and JuCos would be fun to watch. D3s would have edge shooting, D1s would have edge athletically, JuCos would have the most "game". Take care....
Right now I have about 30+ kids playing college ball on all levels (only 1 in D2). Even when kids go D3 about half of them reach out and ask is there a way to still go D1. Then when the season starts, ball is ball.
One of the reasons D3 is so strong in IL is because the 13 D1 schools seem to be pretty clueless about kids in their own backyard. Just got one of my kids to Houston, final schools were UAB, Whichita St. & W. Virginia. Never received a single call from a D1 in IL. Kid would have loved to stay closer to home never got the chance.
As it relates to Bob/Windycity, if he says he got a kid an offer, he did. Bob no longer coaches and truly just helps kids who are often overlooked... and he asks for nothing. There are actually more people who just are in it for the kids in AAU than most know. The shoe company teams get the pub, but programs like mine, Mercury Elite and countless others do a lot for kids on and off the court. And yes our first conversations with kids are about D1 and the prospects of playing at the highest college level. This conversation is unavoidable because for most kids it's the main reason they play AAU.
Occasionally both the kids and the parents get it. One of my current D3s received a D1 offer right before the start of school, tough call, because the kid could easily play D1. But the family made a decision and locked in with the D3.
Finally, this whole issue about D3s being able to play D1 is silly. Of course there are many kids on all levels who could contribute on D1. In my humble estimation after doing this for almost 30 years it works like this.... There are about 900 D1 scholarships each year. The first 600 are easy calls, height, athleticism, connections, etc... But there are probably a couple thousand kids that are talented enough for the last 100-200 scholarships. That's where folks like Bob come into play to get your kid seen with those coaches as they give out those last few scholarships. Then it becomes need and fit. Coach may be looking for a shooter, defender or a GPA booster, you just never know. A couple of my D1s are clear cut D1s and doing great. I have some who would have the same struggles they are having at D1 if they played D3. My D1s currently play at Louisville, IUPUI, Albany, SIUe, Chicago St., Incarnate Word, and a couple of other places that escape me. A round robin of my D3s, D1s and JuCos would be fun to watch. D3s would have edge shooting, D1s would have edge athletically, JuCos would have the most "game". Take care....